What's in the cake in Japan that customers have to order 38 years in advance to buy?

Anyone ordering Kobe beef fries from Shigeru Nitta's Asahiya butcher shop in Hyogo Prefecture (central Japan) needs to be patient, a lot of patience.

The orders placed on January 17 will be delivered in about 38 years, or 2062. According to the South China Morning Post , Mr. Nitta's shop only makes about 200 of these cakes a day, while there are 63,000 pre-orders waiting for the chance to enjoy them.

Many diners in Japan are fascinated by the crispy beef fries of Asahiya because of its special ingredients that are not easy to find. Each cake will contain premium A5 Kobe beef from three-year-old cows raised locally. Hyogo has Kobe city as its capital, and this is the prefecture where Kobe beef is carefully raised to create this famous high-class food.

Asahiya's creations also incorporate nutritious potatoes grown on the store's exclusive farm. Another key ingredient is green onions grown on Awaji Island, also in Hyogo Prefecture.

Có gì trong chiếc bánh ở Nhật mà khách phải ghi danh trước 38 năm để mua?- Ảnh 1. — Kiwami cake made with premium A5 Kobe beef, red potatoes and green onions

Each beef-crusted potato chip is about 10cm in diameter, weighs 100g and is known as a “kiwami” (meaning “outstanding”). Customers can order a box of 10 frozen chips, each golden brown with about 30g of premium Kobe beef. It’s a bargain, says Nitta.

"I estimate Asahiya loses 300 yen (about 50,000 VND) for every potato chip sold because we use such expensive beef," Nitta told This Week in Asia . "But we started selling them because we wanted people to enjoy the taste of high-quality, diced Kobe beef, and to encourage customers to buy other cuts of beef from us."

Thanks to the effective sales, Mr. Nitta expanded his business. According to him, through the media and word of mouth, the cake became famous. In addition, customers were also attracted by its "exclusivity."

As the third generation of his family's Asahiya company, Nitta took over in 1994. In 1999, a friend suggested making potato chips as a way to promote the store's other products. He was skeptical at first, but soon realized with the development of the internet that many people wanted to buy premium Kobe beef but couldn't find it. His potato chips offered them a chance to enjoy this high-end food at a reasonable price.

Mr. Nita added: "The business really took off after Asahiya appeared on a TV show, which brought more media exposure."

The number of orders was so large that in 2016, he decided to stop taking new orders because the 14-year waiting list was too long. Only a few years later, due to pressure from customers, he was forced to continue taking orders with longer waiting times.

"The secret to this crispy potato cake lies in the quality of the beef and other ingredients. Although the waiting time is very long, customers still feel it is worth trying this cake," he said.

However, he doesn't expect to be calling customers for another 38 years to confirm their delivery address and let them know their order has finally been shipped.

"I didn't expect to be around 38 years from now," Mr. Nitta said with a laugh. "But the stores will still be there. And I hope that, by then, my grandchildren will still be making nachos."

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